List of heavy metal musicians
Early heavy metal
(Except for Black Sabbath, none of these bands are truly heavy metal.)- Aerosmith
- Black Sabbath
- Blue Cheer
- Blue Oyster Cult
- Led Zeppelin
- The Misfits
- The Stooges
- Velvet Underground
- Deep Purple
New Wave of British Heavy Metal(NWOBHM)
- Angel Witch
- Def Leppard
- Diamond Head
- Iron Maiden
- Judas Priest
- Motorhead
- Praying Mantis
- Raven
- Samson
- Saxon
Thrash metal
- Anthrax
- Cacophony
- Celtic Frost
- Corrosion of Conformity
- King Diamond
- Kreator
- Megadeth
- Mercyful Fate
- Metallica
- Napalm Death
- Overkill
- Pantera
- Rollins Band
- Sepultura
- Slayer
- Suicidal Tendencies
Power metal
- Accept
- Blind Guardian
- Demons & Wizards
- Gamma Ray
- Hammerfall
- Helloween
- Iced Earth
- Iron Maiden
- Jag Panzer
- Judas Priest
- Nevermore
- Rhapsody
- Stratovarius
Progressive metal
Stoner metal
- Acid King
- Kyuss
- Monster Magnet
- Queens of the Stone Age
- Spirit Caravan
Death metal
- At the Gates
- Arch Enemy
- Atheist
- Benediction
- Bolt Thrower
- Cannibal Corpse
- Carcass
- Cynic
- Dark Tranquility
- Death
- Deicide
- Entombed
- Hypocrisy
- In Flames
- Morbid Angel
- Mortification
- Napalm Death
- Obituary
- Opeth
- Pestilence
- Rotting Christ
- Tiamat
- Venom
Industrial metal
- Godflesh
- Samael (band)
- Ministry
Black metal
- Burzum
- Cradle of Filth
- Borknagar
- Dimmu Borgir
- Emperor
- Finntroll
- Mayhem
- Old Man's Child
- Sacramentum
- Samael
- Thorns
- Ulver
Nu metal
Doom metal
- Anathema
- Candlemass
- Cathedral
- Cemetary
- Crowbar
- Danzig
- Opeth
- Lake of Tears
- My Dying Bride
- Paradise Lost
- Saint Vitus
- Trouble
Neo-classical metal
- Jennifer Batten
- Ritchie Blackmore
- The Great Kat
- Greg Howe
- Yngwie Malmsteen
- Randy Rhoads
Glam metal/hair metal
- Cinderella
- Alice Cooper
- Bon Jovi
- Def Leppard
- Dokken
- Extreme
- Great White
- Guns 'n' Roses
- KISS
- Mötley Crüe
- Mr. Big
- Poison
- Ratt
- The Scorpions
- Skid Row
- Tesla
- Twisted Sister
- Van Halen
- Vixen
- Warrant
- W.A.S.P
- Whitesnake
- Winger
Gothic Metal
- Lacrimosa
- Lacuna Coil
- Theatre of Tragedy
- Within Temptation
